If you owe a debt, be it to the federal government or for a different lien or judgment, the IRS says it won’t take your coronavirus stimulus payment to pay off the debt – unless you owe back child support.
But some taxpayers say the IRS has been withholding stimulus for back child support from the wrong people: new spouses of those who owe the debt.
“If you are married filing jointly and you filed an injured spouse claim with your 2019 tax return (or 2018 tax return if you haven’t filed your 2019 tax return), half of the total payment will be sent to each spouse and your spouse’s payment will be offset only for past-due child support,” the IRS website says. “There is no need to file another injured spouse claim for the payment.”
An “injured spouse” is married to the person who owes the back child support. That person isn’t supposed to be held responsible for the arrears.
But in its rush to get the stimulus payments out as fast as possible, in some cases, the IRS has taken the entire stimulus amount of these couples instead of keeping half and sending the remaining half to the innocent spouse.
Couples said they’ve realized the mistake when they’ve received notices from the federal government that explain the offset.
The IRS is finally addressing the issue. It updated its Economic Impact Payment information center Friday.
“The IRS is working with the Bureau of Fiscal Service and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement, to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” the website said. “If you filed an injured spouse claim with your return and are impacted by this issue, you do not need to take any action. The injured spouse will receive their unpaid half of the total payment when the issue is resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
The IRS did not say how long it would take.
Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com.
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